The folks at Mojang, the studio behind the widely held video game "Minecraft," is working on a film based on their insanely popular creation. The group just announced that the much-awaited movie finally found its director, revealing his identity in their blog.
"Some of you may have seen this guy hanging around Minecon in London a couple weeks ago. He's Rob McElhenney, and he's going to be directing the upcoming Minecraft movie," the Sweden-based game giant revealed.
McElhenney is the creator of the long-running sidesplitting sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." He even stars in it too. According to The Guardian, he will be replacing "Night at the Museum" helmer Shawn Levy, whose idea of the "Minecraft" film was rejected by Mojang.
As reported by Polygon last year, Levy pitched to the company that the movie will feel like the 1985 adventure comedy classic "The Goonies." For the uninitiated, the film follows two brothers fight monsters and heinous creatures as they find the long-lost fortune of the One-Eyed Willie.
The director said that with this as the blueprint, the "Minecraft" film "could have been a lot of fun and fulfilled a lot of the qualities that people love about the game." The idea, for Mojang "doesn't feel right," thus refusing to depict it in the big screen.
McElhenney, on the other hand, is yet to discuss how he wants the movie to play out. Consequence of Sound says that there's a lot to play with the open-world quality of "Minecraft," adding that it has the potential to reach the success "Lego" movies has achieved.
"Minecraft" is a sandbox independent video game released back in 2009. The game lets gamers play with blocks and build "anything you can imagine" as Mojang describes on the official website for the game. As per The Guardian, the game has sold more than 35 million copies.
The Guardian further describes the game as one of the most unique title one can find in the gaming world as it puts players into a procedurally generated world where monsters prowl during the night and 3D blocks are used to make a shelter and tools that will help them last.
According to Consequence of Sound, Mojang has partnered with Warner Bros Animation for the "Minecraft" movie. Aside from McElhenney's directing gig, there are no available details about the upcoming movie, not to mention a specific release date for it.
As for the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" helmer, he intends to direct a family action movie titled "Figment" with Legendary Pictures.
While waiting for more information about the "Minecraft" film, get a load of popular YouTube star Ryan Higa's attempt on a trailer.